Thursday, February 19, 2009

Then an aside: I may have to pick a new word. I no longer balk or panic or resort to the dictionary when I have to spell antenna. But I'll have to wait until I actually have to spell antenna in the wild, rather than in this controlled environment, before I declare victory.

Now, to the rub: It'ls loath, folks. Loath. Meaning reluctant. As in, "I am loath to repeat what was just said." It's not loathe. Loathe is a word, but it's completely different than loath.

First of all, they're prononunced differently. Loath has the soft th sound, as in theoretical or thrombosis. Loathe has the heavy th sound as in thee, these and the second th in thither.

Second of all, they don't mean the same thing. Loath means, as I mentioned earlier, to be reluctant. Loathe means to hate or despise.

REALLY? AS IF IT WERE SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.

“Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little. . .”

YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.

“So you can believe the big ones?”

YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.

“They’re not the same at all!”

YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET – Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME . . . RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.